Before you assume such a statement is exaggerated, let's enumerate a few statistics: Although there's no telling how many sightseers roamed through Anaheim's La Palma Park on June 25, there were 233 paid entries on display. Of these, there were 99 "theme cars," including 1939 DeLuxe passenger cars and 1941 pickups, sedan deliveries, and panel deliveries. Eighty-five percent of these were owned by non-Forties Limited Inc. members.
Now, before you wrongly assume FLI clubsters were apathetic, please be advised that a significant number of the 103 enrollees busted their buns to put on this event and many just didn't have the time to wash and wax their own cars! In other words, Forty Ford Day isn't an egotistical display; it's a tribute to what the true believers assume is the most popular of the readily available non-reproduction street rod material.
The participants were lined up along the side street that parallels the park long before the appointed starting time of 9 a.m. (old hands know the shady spots go quickly). As expected, '40 Fords and their brethren were still rolling in when 10 bells rang from a nearby church. About the only negative one could complain about was the weatherman's spot-on prediction of a very warm Sunday.
No matter, the soft drink stand attendants were at the ready and they never ran out (a miracle in itself with colas going for 50 centavos a pop, no pun intended). The club's answer to the Toonerville Trolley, the illustrious Forty Mobile began its rounds shortly after 9 a.m. Not surprising, it never lacked of passengers as it toured in and out of the staging area, skillfully bypassing spectators who divided their time between the hamburger stand and the main attraction-hundreds of street rods in prime condition.
Forty Ford Day is an automotive exhibition like no other. To the casual observer, the cars may all look alike. Obviously, they were born of the same parentage. Nevertheless, the similarity is not unlike the members of any human family-it's only on the surface. To those who know the genre, each and every one reflects the distinctive aesthetics of its owner/builder.